Beverly
Hills
(Reuters):
Martin
Scorsese
was
named
best
film
director
at
the
Golden
Globes
for
''The
Departed,''
a
crime
thriller
many
think
might
earn
the
famed
director
his
first
Oscar
either
for
best
directing
or
for
best
film.
Meanwhile,
British
comedian
Sacha
Baron
Cohen
yesterday
won
the
Golden
Globe
for
best
actor
in
a
comedy
or
a
musical
for
his
stunning
performance
as
boorish
Kazakh
journalist
searching
for
''sexytime''
during
a
US
visit
in
''Borat''.
Film
newcomer
Jennifer
Hudson
won
the
award
for
best
supporting
actress
in
a
movie
musical
or
comedy
at
the
Golden
Globe
Awards
today
for
her
powerful
performance
as
a
singer
scorned
in
''Dreamgirls.''
Hudson,
fighting
back
tears,
called
it
a
honour.
''Oh,
my
God.
Thank
you
so
much,''
she
said.
''Wow.
I
have
always
dreamed
but
never,
ever
this
big.
This
goes
far
beyond
anything
I
could
ever
have
imagined.''
The
awards,
which
are
voted
on
by
nearly
90
members
of
the
Hollywood
Foreign
Press
Association,
are
a
major
stop
on
the
road
to
the
February
25
Academy
Awards
because
winners
here
often
go
on
to
compete
for
Oscars
--
the
film
industry's
top
awards.
In
another
early
award,
''The
Song
of
the
Heart,''
from
the
animated
''Happy
Feet,''
won
for
best
original
song
in
a
motion
picture.
Along
with
being
a
major
stepping
stone
on
the
way
to
Oscars,
which
are
given
out
by
the
Academy
of
Motion
Picture
Arts
and
Sciences,
the
Golden
Globes
are
televised
around
the
world,
so
the
stars
show
up
dripping
in
diamonds
and
wearing
glamorous
designer
gowns
and
tuxedos.
Parading
up
the
red
carpet
outside
the
awards
gala
were
a
who's
who
of
superstardom:
Jack
Nicholson,
Steven
Spielberg,
Brad
Pitt
alongside
companion
Angelina
Jolie,
Will
Smith
and
wife
Jada
Pinkett
Smith.
The
Smiths
noted
the
Golden
Globes
were
a
fun
event
to
attend
but
making
it
even
better
is
the
fact
that
Will
Smith
is
nominated
for
best
actor
in
a
drama
for
his
role
as
a
man
who
overcomes
tremendous
adversity
to
better
himself
in
''The
Pursuit
of
Happyness.''
''When
you
get
nominated,
you're
a
little
more
inspired
to
come
out,''
he
joked
on
the
red
carpet.
Fashions
for
the
actresses
ranged
from
full-length
gowns
like
the
glittering
gold
dress
worn
by
pop
singer
Beyonce,
who
also
stars
in
''Dreamgirls,''
to
knee-high
dresses
such
as
that
adorning
by
Renee
Zellweger,
nominated
for
best
acting
in
a
comedy
or
musical,
''Miss
Potter.''
The
battle
for
best
dramatic
film
was
expected
to
be
a
close
fight
between
director
Martin
Scorsese's
crime
thriller
''The
Departed''
and
Mexican
director
Alejandro
Gonzalez
Inarritu's
searing
cultural
drama
''Babel.''
''Babel''
has
more
nominations
than
any
film
-
seven
-
while
''The
Departed''
is
second
with
six.
Oscar
pundit
Tom
O'Neil
calls
the
best
drama
race
a
toss-up
between
the
two.
Also
nominated
in
that
category
are
''The
Queen,''
an
inside
look
at
the
British
royal
family;
''Bobby,''
about
the
assassination
of
Robert
Kennedy;
''The
Queen'';
and
''Little
Children,''
a
drama
of
adultery
starring
Kate
Winslet.
Comic
actor
Sacha
Baron
Cohen's
box
office
hit,
''Borat:
Cultural
Learnings
of
America
for
Make
Benefit
Glorious
Nation
of
Kazakhstan,''
was
nominated
in
the
best
musical
or
comedy
group
along
with
''The
Devil
Wears
Prada,''
''Dreamgirls,''
''Little
Miss
Sunshine''
and
''Thank
You
for
Smoking.''
''Dreamgirls''
and
''Sunshine''
are
strong
favorites,
and
a
victory
here
will
give
either
an
added
boost
for
Oscars.
Cohen
is
the
favorite
in
the
best
actor
for
a
musical
or
comedy
category
where
he
is
nominated
alongside
Johnny
Depp,
Aaron
Eckhard,
Chiwetel
Ejiofor
and
Will
Ferrell.
In
the
category
for
best
actor
in
a
drama,
DiCaprio
may
be
his
own
stiffest
competition.
He
is
nominated
for
both
''The
Departed''
and
''Blood
Diamond.''
He
will
go
against
Britain's
Peter
O'Toole,
playing
an
aging
actor
in
''Venus,''
Smith
for
''The
Pursuit
of
Happyness''
and
Forest
Whitaker
as
the
brutal
dictator
Idi
Amin
in
''The
Last
King
of
Scotland.''
Whitaker
is
the
favorite
but
Globe
voters
have
been
very
friendly
to
DiCaprio
in
the
past.